This invention relates to a metal bat for use in baseball and to a method of producing same.
Baseball bats formed of tubular metal bodies are now widespread among students' or other baseball players. Known baseball bats, however, have a problem because a sharp metallic sound is generated when hitting a ball therewith. To cope with this problem, Japanese Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. 62-21380 proposes to provide a layer formed of an inorganic fiber-reinforced material, such as a glass fiber-reinforced rubber, on an inside wall of a tubular metal bat. While this metal bat lined with such a sound-proofing layer of an inorganic fiber-reinforced material can solve the problem of metallic, impact sound, another problem arises because the sound-proofing layer tends to change the center of gravity of the bat. Furthmore, it is impossible to newly provide such a sound-proofing layer in bats already completed as commercial products.